The present invention relates to a method of reducing the lateral force variation exhibited by a tire during rotation.
It is known that due to the nature of a pneumatic tire and the present methods of manufacturing pneumatic tires, such tires exhibit at least some degree of non-uniformity. The non-uniformity in the tire has been measured and studied in many ways. Some examples of measurements of the non-uniformity of the tire include balance, tread gauge variation, radial and lateral run-out, radial and lateral force variation, and an average or net lateral force exerted in one direction during rotation.
Various methods have been proposed and utilized to reduce certain of these irregularities. For example, radial force variation can be reduced by grinding both axially outer ribs of the tire at the point of high radial force. The tire tread surface can also be ground to reduce radial runout. Further, it has been proposed that one axially outer rib can be ground completely around the tire to reduce the net axial thrust or net lateral force exhibited by the tire during rotation.